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11.28.2023
We apologize for the lateness of this commemoration of Project Renewal’s Stephanie Cowles who passed away September 11th. Stephanie was a leading light of innovation for nearly 45 years, having created the nation’s first non-medical detox where people withdrawing from drugs and alcohol could do so outside a hospital setting. The model was adopted statewide and when Stephanie retired, Project Renewal named their de-tox in her honor: The Stephanie Cowles Treatment Center.
Because Stephanie loved to cook, she invented the organization’s Culinary Arts program in 1997 which has trained and placed thousands of low-income and formerly homeless people into jobs in the food service industry. Culinary Arts led to the creation of its own (excellent) social purpose venture – the catering company now known as City Beet Kitchens.
As head of the organization’s substance use disorder programs, she helped design and shape Project Renewal’s harm reduction approach and created the country’s first scattered site permanent housing program using a housing first approach: In Homes Now.
She will be missed by so many who will remember her infectious personality, quick wit, and incomparable commitment to the work of Project Renewal.